One Year at a Time
by iWant9Lives2Live
Summary: This is for MusicChannySkyscraper's One Year Exactly Challenge...forgot to put the disclaimer inside so i do not own SWAC...REVIEW! ! ! ! ! Sonny works in a bar when she sees someone familiar...oh, and don't forget to REVIEW! ! ! ! ! Rated T for swearing


_**This is for MusicChannySkyscraper's One Year Exactly contest. ENJOY! Sorry for slight swearing.**_

**SPOV**

It's been exactly a year since I saw him.

Last time I saw him, he was in a church…in a tux…marrying my best friend, Tawni Hart.

After I saw him, I became a bartender on the outskirts of Hollywood. I was in love with him…

Exactly a year before the wedding, we broke up from a two year relationship. I'm still not over him. When he was in that church, the sparkle in his eyes was lacking…immensely.

"Hey, Allie, this is the last customer, then you can go home," Janelle said. She owns the bar and became my closest friend. I stopped going by Sonny after I lost him for good. I looked up at the door to see the customer who she was referring to.

It was a hooded figure but I could see some blonde hair coming from underneath it. The cloak they were wearing was wet, indicating it was raining outside. When they sat down, they kept the hood up. "You got some ID?" I've given drinks to minors before but we have to ask for ID by law.

"No, not on me." His voice sounded faintly familiar but I had no chance placing it. "Sorry, I left it at my house after my wife bitched at me."

"How about I get you a drink and we can talk about it?" I still couldn't see his face. Or any part of it.

"Sure. Thank you."

"No problem. And since it seems like you've been through hell and back, it's on the house."

"I appreciate it. Just a simple beer, please"

I took out a bottle of beer and gave it to him. "Now, what's going on?"

"My wife claims that I never loved her and that I never got over her ex-best friend, which I just think is bullshit." I laughed slightly.

"_Do _you love her? You're talking about her like all she is, is a pain in the ass."

"She is. And she's right. I'm still in love with my ex. Exactly a year after we broke up, I got married, and I never even loved the girl. I still love Sonny, and I haven't even seen her in a year. Look at me, sharing my problems with a total stranger. What's your name?"

I pretended I didn't hear him say "Sonny" so I just said, "Allie." He took off his hood. I found myself staring into those blue orbs I fell in love with almost four years ago. "Same thing happened with me. I was with a guy, named _Chad_," I exaggerated, "for two years. I found him cheating on me with my best friend. Exactly a year later, they got married. I'm still in love with him after a year. I never stopped thinking about him. And I know that he's sitting in front of me now."

He looked shocked and stared deeply into his eyes. I dyed my hair pitch black from its former chocolate brown after the wedding. He said one word that swelled my heart with hope. "Sonny."

**CPOV (from his fight with the "wife")**

"Maybe you should have stayed with Sonny! I don't think you ever got over her!" my oh-so-caring wife screamed. Note the sarcasm.

When she mentioned her name, I didn't feel the need to scream at her I knew her words were true. Today was supposed to be our one year anniversary, but it's the saddest day of my life. I just think about Sonny and how exactly a year ago, we said goodbye for good. I'm still in love with her. I never loved Tawni. "Why would you say that?" I asked calmly.

"Because it's horribly obvious! You never stopped thinking about her. We have been together for two years—married for one—and have you noticed that I am still a virgin because every time we start kissing you turn me away? I see the look in your eyes when you do. You're sad that I'm not her." She was speaking the truth. We have been married for a while and we haven't even done "it". "I love you, Chad, but I can tell you don't feel the same." She took both rings—marriage and engagement—off her finger and threw them at my head. "Something tells me that you were going to propose to Sonny before you broke up. The engagement ring is engraved with 'for my Sonshine, forever and always.' The 'Sonshine' is capitalized and spelled with an 'o' as in Sonny."

I didn't exactly answer her. I put the engagement ring in my pocket and muttered, "I need a drink." I walked out the door, slamming it shut. When I got in my car, it started raining. I reached into the back of the car and searched for my black hooded cloak. I know it's creepy, but it'll save me from the rain. I drove to a little bar on the edge of Hollywood. I pulled on my cloak with the hood up. I walked up to the bar where the perky bartender asked, "You got some ID?" I heard that voice somewhere but I couldn't place it.

"No, not on me." In the midst of the fight, I just left my house without my wallet. Crap, now I can't even have a drink. "Sorry, I left it at my house after my wife bitched at me."

"How about I get you a drink and we can talk about it." I still had the hood up, blocking my eyes from her view.

"Sure. Thank you."

"No problem. And since it seems like you've been through hell and back, it's on the house."

"I appreciate it. Just a simple beer, please."

She handed me the beer and I popped the lid off. "Now, what's going on?"

"My wife claims that I never loved her and that I never got over her ex-best friend which I just think is bullshit." She laughed a little. Her laugh is cute…and familiar, but I don't know where I heard it before.

"_Do _you love her? You're talking about her like all she is, is a pain in the ass." It feels like I already know this girl, and I haven't even seen her face yet!

"She is. And she's right. I'm still in love with my ex. Exactly a year after we broke up, I got married, and I never even loved the girl. I still love Sonny, and I haven't even seen her in a year. Look at me, sharing my problems with a total stranger. What's your name?" I swear I heard a sharp intake of breath from her but I could have imagined it.

"Allie." I put the hood down. I felt myself falling into those chocolate bits of sunshine I fell in love with almost four years ago. "Same thing happened with me. I was with a guy, named _Chad_," she exaggerated, "for two years. I found him cheating on me with my best friend. Exactly a year later, they got married. I'm still in love with him after a year. I never stopped thinking about him. And I know that he's sitting in front of me now."

The word I said afterwards seemed to be caught in my throat. I finally got it out as I recognized this brown eyed beauty standing in front of me with black dyed hair that used to match her warm eyes. "Sonny."

"Chad. I have missed you so much."

"Then how come you haven't talked to me since that day?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"You think it's that easy, where all I have to do is show up at your door and everything will be okay? I couldn't stand to see you with her! I love you, Chad, even though I haven't seen you in a year; I never stopped."

"I never stopped either. When you saw Tawni and me that night, you and I were in a fight. At that moment I just loved the feeling of _being _loved." I pulled the shining diamond ring out of my pocket and placed it on the counter. "She threw it at me before I left. She noticed the engraving on it." Curiously, Sonny picked up the ring and read it.

A huge smile slowly spread out across her face. "Sonshine. That was your nickname for me when we were dating. But if this is engraved to 'Sonshine' then…" she trailed off, piecing it all together.

"Yes, Sonshine. I was going to propose to you the night you broke up with me. I know we were in the middle of a fight, but I was hoping you would forgive me and see how much I really love you."

She blushed and said, "If you asked me that night, before everything happened with Tawni, I would have said 'yes', whether or not we were in a fight."

I looked at her in shock and asked anxiously asked, "And if I asked you now?"

She lightly giggled at my enthusiasm and said, "I won't say 'yes' until you do something for me."

"Anything," I blurted before she even finished speaking.

"I want you to divorce that hag," she said with a straight face.

I chuckled and replied, "I was already going to."

A girl came from out back and talked to Sonny. "Allie, you can go if you want. And I saw the flirting. So go out with him," she whispered. "Wait, is this…?" she trailed off, letting Sonny complete her sentence.

"Yes, Ellie, it is. Ellie, this is Chad. Chad, this is my best friend and owner of the bar, Janelle, or Ellie for short." We shook hands.

Sonny went out back to get her stuff as I waited for her. "So, Allie told me a lot about you." That made me nervous.

"W-What exactly d-did she tell you?"

"Not much, just that you were her first love—who she never stopped loving—and that you were her first _time_," she said awkwardly.

"I actually haven't done _it _since we broke up."

"But aren't you married?"

"Yeah, but when I do it I want it to be out of love and Sonny is the only one I've ever loved."

She looking at me, her eyes filled with question. "Sonny?"

"Yeah, it was short for Allison." I wonder why she changed that. Was it because of me?

I saw Sonny come back out.

"Do you want me to drive you home, Sonshine?"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

**SPOV**

He grabbed my hand and the spark was still there, even after all this time.

"How come you don't go by Sonny anymore?"

"It reminded me of you too much. How you would always change around my name. Sonbeam; Sonflower; SonnySon; and my all-time favorite, Sonshine."

He rubbed comforting circles on the back of my hand as he opened the car door for me. He went into the driver's side and clutched my hand once again.

"Sonny, I want you to hold onto the ring. Once the divorce is final, I want to marry _you_."

"I already said yes, Chad. And I will hold onto the ring but I won't wear it yet. I will keep it put away until you are available again."

A huge grin was plastered on his face. After a while of me giving him directions, we arrived at my house. I invited him inside and we talked on my sofa. "So what made you become a _bartender_?" he asked.

"You," I said simply. He had that adorable confused face planted on him when I explained further. "I wanted to pursue acting but it reminded me of you. I wanted to become a singer, but all my songs were about _you_."

He smiled faintly and said, "Well, I'm very glad you became a bartender."

"And why is that?"

"Because I probably would have never seen the girl I love again."

He started to lean forward and I met him halfway. The kiss began to get really heated. He flicked my bottom lip as granted him access. When we parted I whispered, "Just like our first."

We watched a movie and he said that he had to get home, get his stuff, and tell Tawni about the divorce he wants.

"Don't be surprised if I come back here for the night."

"As far as I'm concerned, you already moved in." I smiled as I quickly kissed him.

_**2 hours later…**_

There was a knock on the door. I opened it to see luscious blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. I greeted him with a kiss that he quickly deepened. He carried me to the couch, our lips still attached. After kissing for awhile, we parted and I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"The divorce will be final in about a month." I smiled brightly as I leaned up to give him a kiss.

"I love you," I whispered into his chest.

"I love you, too, Sonshine," he said lightly, his lips skimming my ear, sending chills down my spine.

"You left me exactly a year ago."

"I know. I didn't know how much it would hurt you, but now that do, I am _never _going to leave you again." He kissed my hair. I fell asleep on his chest that night…

_**1 month later…**_

Chad came into the kitchen and threw an envelope in front of me while I was slicing vegetables for dinner. I wiped my hands on a towel to get rid of the veggie juice. "What's this?"

"Open it." I complied, taking the papers out of the envelope. These papers declared the termination of the marriage between "Chad Dylan Cooper and Tawni Sophia Cooper-Hart."

"It's final?" I asked, astonished.

"Yep, and you know what that means," he said proudly.

A huge grin lit up my face as I squealed. I ran over to the kitchen table that had a dish holding the engraved engagement ring that has been sitting there for a month. I slid the ring on the second finger of my left hand. I felt two strong arms embrace me from behind. I turned around in his arms and planted a firm kiss on his lips.

_A year after that, _we were married. We waited to make up for lost time.

_A year after that, _I forgave Tawni. She, Janelle, and I have become best friends.

_A year after that, _I gave birth to twin girls while clutching Chad's hand. We named them MacKenzie Autumn Cooper and MacKayla Summer Cooper. We chose close friends to be the godparents—Tawni and her husband, Nico are the godparents for MacKenzie. Janelle and her fiancée, Grady—I know, weird—are MacKayla's godparents.

_A year after that, _Chad gave the twins nicknames. They were now Mack—MacKenzie—and Mickey—MacKayla.

_A year after that, _the twins said their first words simultaneously. MacKenzie said "Dada"—she's a daddy's girl—while MacKayla's first word was "Mama"—she was definitely Mommy's little girl.

_A year after that, _the twins took their first steps. Naturally, MacKenzie tottered over to Chad while MacKayla wobbled over to me—her proud mother.

_We're just taking it one year at a time._

_**Well that was my entry…hopefully this does well…**_


End file.
